Do you enjoy gardening? I do. I just wish that I could do a lot more of it. Thankfully, I am discovering that the older that I get, the more time I seem to have for it which is a definite plus. I suppose eventually I’ll be able to garden on days other than the weekends at some point at this rate. Little by little, day by day, right?

I love gardening because it is so relaxing. I also enjoy the reward of caring for something and watching it grow into something wonderful and beautiful.

If you don’t garden you might be surprised to learn that it is a very physical activity, so much so that I consider it a form of exercise. Digging holes, bending and squatting to pull weeds, clipping and cutting, and when you are propagating several plants at one time it can be somewhat labor intensive. So, it’s a good way of getting exercise if you aren’t into exercising…well, sort of.

I love the way that annuals and perennials add character and color to my yard during the spring, summer and fall months. I also love it when the plants and flowers that I plant attract butterflies, ladybugs and birds – especially butterflies and hummingbirds. However, I am less enthused when my yard attracts a lot of bees, flies, snails or other bugs. Not because I don’t like bugs, but because I would rather not get bitten or stung by any insects, and it can be very frustrating when they eat the leaves of my plants and open them up to disease and eventually plant loss.

One way that I try to combat insects, and their sometimes vicious little bites, are by planting plants that have the ability to repel and ward off certain insects. Some of the plants that can be quite useful for keeping mosquitoes at bay include mint, basil, lavender, lemongrass and chrysanthemums and marigolds. I like to keep at least two planters filled with bright, beautiful marigolds and chrysanthemums by my front door during the second half of summer through the fall season, and I am also sure that is something that our guests likely appreciate when they stop by to visit as well.

The marigolds and chrysanthemums are beautiful to look at and add that curb appeal to the front yard, but lately I have been thinking about adding some olfactory benefits to my front yard as well.

I really love the smell of lemongrass and lavender and would love to add both to my front yard. The tricky part is finding a good spot in my yard, or in a pot on the porch, that doesn’t take anything away from the aesthetics of the yard design. I’ll figure it out at some point and I will be sure to post and share that with you when I do so you can have an idea of how to incorporate it in your yard should that be something that interests you.

I was gifted a mint plant last year and I kept it indoors for several months so that it could serve as a natural indoor repellent, and a natural herb to use for cooking that was handy and within reach while cooking. As a child my mother used to grow mint in our backyard and the refreshing scent is something that I will always associate with home. The scent is light, but still delightful and can be very comforting.

The mint plant that I received eventually outgrew the pot that it was in, and I felt that it was time to move it outdoors. I also wanted to see if it would actually grow outside, and it grew very well outdoors – although I decided to keep it in a larger pot instead of planting it in the ground because after conducting a little research, I learned that they tend to spread if planted in the ground and given a lot of room to grow. This was just my personal preference because I need all of the extra planting space that I can get because I am also currently working on creating a memorial garden, and unfortunately, mint isn’t on that garden’s planting list.

During the winter and into spring when we get a lot of rain on the west coast we tend to get a lot of snail activity where I live which is, more often than not a bad situation for many of my plants and flowers. Lucky for me though, not too long ago, I was informed by a neighbor that the fennel plant is a great plant to use in your garden if you want to get rid of snails. That was great news for me being that I usually use Corry’s Slug and Snail Killer, and have been looking for something more natural to use for our snail problem. I can’t wait to try that option later this year.

I can’t end this post without mentioning my favorite flowers – petunias! I absolutely adore petunias, and they way that they add so much flair to a yard during the spring and summer.

The pest-free benefit of petunias is that they are supposed to be good at keep aphids away. (You know, those pesky little critters that are known to invade your lovely rose bushes and delicate indoor plants.) Petunias are my go to flowers once the weather begins to warm up after winter, and I am ready to add a pop of color to my yard. If the petunias still happen to get aphids I then turn to using safe soap based insecticidal solutions to get rid of them.

Even with the likelihood of getting garden pests, I still enjoy this hobby and I appreciate the joy that it instills within me.

If you have any other ideas for getting rid of garden pests, please comment as I would love to hear your ideas! Love and light to you!

Thank you for reading.

Until the next post…

Take care + be well

“When your hands in the dirt, ready to care for a living thing, that is a time when your cares melt away.”